| “ | In the words of a very wise and surprising talkative Tibetan monk snake: Life is a conundrum of escoterica. | ” |
— Monty Montgomery, "The Carnivorous Carnival: Part One"
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Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, was a brilliant herpetologist. He had a lifelong interest in snakes and reptiles, having a large collection of them in his house inside a room known as the Reptile Room. He was the Baudelaire orphans' second guardian.
To Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, he was known as Uncle Monty, although he was Bertrand's "cousin's wife's brother".
Personality
He was a kind-hearted, resourceful and passionate individual who loved caring for reptiles and various unorthodox pets. The Baudelaire childrens' experience living with him was probably the most pleasant throughout the series, since he became the closest thing of a new family to them.
In the book, it is implied he has a bit of a vengeful side, saying he hopes Count Olaf is torn apart by wild animals someday before asking the Baudelaires, "Wouldn't that be satisfying?"
Biography
Early Life
In the books, Montgomery was described as a short chubby man with a round red face. He probably attended Prufrock Preparatory School, like all the other volunteers. He was, being on the fire-fighting side of V.F.D., a noble and kind man.
Uncle Monty reveals he never had children or a wife because he had no time for it and was leaving the idea for later, but he said it kept slipping his mind. This is different from the film canon in which he had a wife and children, but they died in a fire.
He discovered the Incredibly Deadly Viper, which was completely harmless, but he deliberately gave it a misnomer to play a prank on his associates at the Herpetological Society, showing he has a mischievous sense of humor.
Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography reveals that many of Monty's reptiles were trained to communicate coded messages. A ripped page from the book "The Mamba du Mal: A Snake That Will Never Kill Me" (written by Monty under his anagram pen-name Tony "Mommy" Eggmonteror) describes some phrases used by the Mamba du Mal. The Unauthorized Autobiography also contains a partial transcript of a V.F.D. meeting in which two attendees named 'M' appear. It is possible that Monty is one of these individuals.
In The End, Kit Snicket states that Monty taught her many Italian words, including Vaparetto.
At the close of Who Could That Be at This Hour?, Hector briefly mentions Monty.
The Reptile Room
Uncle Monty introducing himself to the Baudelaires.
Upon first meeting the Baudelaires, he gave them homemade coconut cream cake. The Baudelaires quickly became fond of him. Montgomery preferred to be called "Uncle Monty" by the orphans. He mentioned how he had planned to take them to Peru with his assistant, Dr. Gustav Sebald and that Gustav had mysteriously "resigned" the day before the trip (he was actually drowned in the Swarthy Swamp by Count Olaf). Montgomery unintentionally hired Count Olaf, disguised as a lab assistant named Stephano, as Gustav's replacement.
The children also watched a film called Zombies in the Snow while in the care of Dr. Montgomery, directed by Gustav Sebald. The movie, written in Sebald Code, warned them about an impostor (Stephano), and a survivor of a fire, but neither the Baudelaires nor Dr. Montgomery had ever learned Sebald Code, and as a result they did not realize this. The Baudelaire orphans were aware that Stephano was Olaf in disguise, but they were unable to convince Montgomery.
In the TV series, Montgomery does notice the code. He received a message saying, "Danger. Take the children to Peru on the S.S. Prospero".
Montgomery does, however, notice that Stephano is not a very good herpetologist, and believes he is a spy from the Herpetological Society. He rips up Stephano's ticket to Peru and plans to tell Stephano to stay at the house to look after the specimens. Sometime during the night, Montgomery is murdered by Olaf who uses the snake venom of the Mamba du Mal to divert suspicion, making it seem as if Montgomery died from an accidental snakebite.
Monty's body.
The next morning, the Baudelaires wake up and find their uncle's body in the Reptile Room. The children are extremely upset, yet they are determined to prove the death was a murder, not only to save them from Olaf but also to avenge their uncle. They expose Stephano's true identity, however, Olaf manages to escape again.
Both the villains and volunteers want possession of Montgomery's collection of reptiles and amphibians. After Dr. Montgomery's death, a man named Bruce retrieves the animals for use by the Herpetological Society. It is stated in The Slippery Slope that Count Olaf later tricked Bruce into letting him take possession of the animals. This is the last mention of them in the books.[2]
Later books
In The End, Montgomery is mentioned as "my herpetologist comrade", meaning Lemony Snicket's comrade, confirming he is a member of V.F.D. Kit Snicket mentions that he taught her to apply the Vapporetto of Favorite Detritus.
Behind the scenes
- In the film adaptation, he was portrayed by Billy Connolly.
- In the video game, he was voiced by Jay Gordon.
- In the Netflix series, he was portrayed by Aasif Mandvi.
Etymology
It is unknown where the name Montgomery came from, as there are many stories of its origin.
It is possible that the name "Montgomery Montgomery" is a reference to Monty Python, a British comedy group. The children call him uncle "Monty" and him being a herpetological scientist that specializes in snakes may refer to "Python", a type of snake.
It is also possible that the dual name, "Montgomery Montgomery" relates to Vladimir Nabokov's seminal novel, Lolita, in which the narrating character's name was Humbert Humbert.
It is possible that the name "Uncle Monty" is a reference to the 1987 British cult film Withnail and I, in which there is a character named Uncle Monty, also portrayed as a fat, short man with a round, red chubby face.
Quotes
Books
- “I promise that if you take time to learn the facts, no harm will come to you here in the Reptile Room.” (to the Baudelaire orphans)
TV series
- “Life is a conundrum of escoterica.”
- “As I was saying, the Mamba du Mal is one of the deadliest snakes in the world, which is why I'm training them to send and receive secret messages.”
Trivia
Monty locked inside the piano.
- In the TV series, Montgomery Montgomery's mustache resembles that of Clash Royale's Electro Wizard.
- In the TV series, it is revealed Monty was locked in a piano with the Baudelaire parents, and Count Olaf took a picture of it.
- In the TV series, The Daily Punctilio publishes lies, claiming Montgomery Montgomery had "snake allergies" and died from them, and that he "hated snakes". It also tries to push the narrative that the Baudelaires murdered their parents, Montgomery Montgomery and Josephine Anwhistle because they want their fortune all to themselves.[3]
- In the TV series, Montgomery was also shown to have a ticket taker ally who spliced the footage of Zombies in the Snow so that he can copy down the remaining message. In addition, Count Olaf had the White-Faced Women try to capture him to no avail.
Family
Books/Netflix Series
| Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unknown if adoptive or biological | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | Unnamed Guardians | Biological Parents † | Unnamed Mother † | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monty Montgomery † | Monty Montgomery's Sister | Bertrand's Cousin | Bertrand Baudelaire † | Beatrice Baudelaire † | Gregor Anwhistle † | Ike Anwhistle † | Josephine Anwhistle † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Violet Baudelaire | Klaus Baudelaire | Sunny Baudelaire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beatrice Baudelaire II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Film
| Wife † | Monty Montgomery † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children † | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Violet Baudelaire | Klaus Baudelaire | Sunny Baudelaire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances
Gallery
Books
Movie
.PNG "Montgomery Montgomery (Movie).PNG (113 KB)")
Video game
TV series
Sources
- ↑ In the reprise of That's Not How The Story Goes in The Penultimate Peril: Part 2, a copy of the Daily Punctilio on the accident at Lucky Smells Lumbermill is labelled as "LOCAL CITY NEWS AUGUST 23 ACCIDENT AT LUCKY SMELL" with the rest of the words cut off. This confirms that the accident that killed Georgina Orwell occurred on that date. The Baudelaires spent only a few days at the Lumbermill meaning that Josephine died on the 21st. Monty mentions that they're going to Peru "in a week" and dies on the day they were supposed to leave, meaning that the Baudelaires came to stay with him, at the latest, eight days before Josephine died - that being August thirteenth - to accommodate for the week and at least one day to find them a new guardian, placing Monty's death no later than August 20th - assuming there's only one day between his death and their arrival at Josephine's.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 PROSE: Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography
- ↑ The Hilarious Made-Up Tabloid in A Series of Unfortunate Events Is Fake News That's Worth Reading, Slate
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